It's So Cold
by bookchomper101
Summary: It's a normal evening in Gotham, and all the Gothamites are going about business as usual. But the should have been more alert. There's a boy dying in an alleyway and he's all alone. Possible Character Death- you'll just have to read and find out.
1. Chapter 1

**This will probably have multiple chapters, so please tell me what you think. I have a good idea where this is going, so please tell me if it is liked and I will continue it as soon as I can humanly write it.**

Chapter 1:

There were always muggings in Gotham. And more than not those muggings ended in death. Everyone knew that. It was the norm here; no one looked twice anymore. And no one responded to any cries of help that came from alleyways and dark corners anymore.

Someone should have checked this one time.

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

_It hurts._

_ Oh my goodness, it hurts so much. Is this what dying is like? This cold, this pain, this emptiness when you realize that you're alone. All the colours are bleeding out of the world, it's all turning black and white. Where do all the colours go?_

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

There was a boy dying in the alleyway. He was curled into himself, his legs tucked as close as possible to his chest. His hands were clutching his midsection, and with all the limbs in the way you could hardly see the red seeping in between the fingers.

The ground, on the other hand, was covered in it. A pool surrounded the boy, staining his clothes and matting in his hair.

A closer look at him showed that he was crying. Tears streaked down his face to mingle and mix with the blood on the concrete. Sobs and gasps were wrenched from his mouth, and those movements aggravated his wounds even further. It was a vicious cycle, with the aggravations causing him to cry out in pain even more, which aggravated his wounds…and so on. All in all, it ended with the boy even more out of breath and even more in pain.

He was whispering something fervently as well. It was so quiet that one would only hear it if they were inches from his face. So no one heard his pleas.

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

_Dying alone is the worst. There's no one to comfort you when you know the end is coming, and you can feel everything fading away. There's no one holding your hand or trying to keep you alive. You're just utterly alone._

_ The world closes in on you and you feel like you're suffocating. It's all you can do to just keep breathing. A lot of the time it just seems easier and less painful to stop._

_ I don't want to die alone. It doesn't matter; just a random stranger is fine. I just want someone with me. Even my killer. I don't want to be alone. Please? Oh, it's so cold. Someone? Anyone?_

_ Bruce?_

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

The words that were being choked out would break anyone's heart if they heard them. It sounded like there was a little boy lost from his parents after he had woken up from a nightmare. Only this nightmare was real.

"Bruce? Bruce, I'm scared. Where are you? I'm scared, Bruce. Please? I'll do better, just please come. Where are you? I need help. Help? Help? Anyone?"

No one could hear his cries, but that didn't stop him from making them. He cried out until his voice broke, and then he mouthed words in silence. He spoke until his throat screamed in pain. But no one came.

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

_ Is this what they felt like- when they fell? Did they want me to join them so that they wouldn't be alone? Were they upset with me when I didn't? Mami? Tati?_

_ Bruce still mourns his parents, and he almost never smiles. I know it's because of __his__ Mami and Tati, and what happened. Maybe that's why he and I never connected, I wasn't dead. If I was dead, he would definitely love me…_

_I think this is for the best._

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

The blood on the ground was steadily growing all that time, and the boy was growing paler and paler. It seemed so incredible that there could be that much blood in a person's body. That we could contain so much red.

The boy was just in the shadows of the alleyway, mere inches away from lights and the bustle of evening Gotham. There was just enough distance for him to hear the high heels and dress shoes clicking on the concrete, for the high-bred conversation to waft to his ears.

That must have been more torture than anything else. More than the pain, more than the loneliness. He was so close to help. So close to people. But he was completely alone.

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

_ Everyone's going to the opera house, there's a new show airing. It finally got refurnished earlier this year, and people are finally starting to regard it as something other than taboo. Today's opening night._

_ Everyone who ever matters will be there. Everyone._

_ Will Bruce be going? I know he doesn't like operas very much anymore after his parents, but he'd be expected to. To keep up with his billionaire playboy routine. Will he pass by the alley? I don't think I could bear that, him walking past me. I hope he's not going. I hope he's not there._

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

Sure enough, everyone who ever mattered in Gotham came to the opening night of the opera house. It would be sacrilege for a certain Mr. Bruce Wayne not to. He walked on the sidewalk with a Miss Vicki Vale hung off his arm. They engaged in flirtations and rich people chatter and gossip. She insulted his ward Richard Grayson several times in only the way that shallow bimbos could, calling him a charity case, gypsy trash, and the _perfect_ publicity stunt.

And Bruce Wayne was silent. He even laughed along with her.

In that alleyway, just a few feet away, tears started to mingle with the blood.

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

_ I had been about to try and catch his attention. I had about to reach out to him. He would have noticed: he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. He would have saved me, I would have let him, even though he would have loved me more dead. But then he changed my mind._

_ He laughed at me. He agreed with her. He never said anything otherwise, but I always thought…_

_ He never cared for me. It's all true, what everyone said, that I was just a way to gain support for him._

_ I see that now…its just…why couldn't I have been blind of that for these last few moments. Maybe it wouldn't hurt so much then._

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

Bruce Wayne and his date entered the opera house laughing and having a grand, old time. They were so oblivious to their surrounding, and it was their fault. A boy in the alleyway was slowly dying.

More people passed by the alleyway, and none heard the boy's soft pleas for Bruce to 'come back and tell me you were kidding', or his crying. Some would pause for a moment, saying that they thought that they heard something, and for a moment the boy would be hopeful. He would wait anxiously for them to turn into the alley, see him and gasp, and call for help. But then they'd laugh to themselves at how their imagination was running wild and continue on their way.

The sounds of the opera started to filter through the air and the sweetest and softest of oratories reached the boy's ears.

His breathing started to slow.

**What do you all think? Did I right it well? Do you want me to continue? Let me know in the box below.**

**VVV**


	2. Chapter 2

**I genuinely started crying at one point when I was writing this. I hope you all like it. **

**Also, thank you all for the incredible fan response; I was blown away by the number of emails in my account.**

**I'd like to thank IndiaMoore, thwipthwipity, tula453, starwarsfan15, I'm Judging You, RobinLover321, Nightwing'snight, Sairey13, dancingandsingingintherain, BATMANMELTSI, saphire122, PeaceLoveNINJA, and sharyvargam for favouriting and following.**

**thwipthwipity: I'll try not to :P **

**starwarsfan15: He's thirteen in this, same as in season 1. And there will definitely be a talk with Bruce and Dick later on. They seriously need to have a talk.**

**I'm Judging You: I'm glad that my writing was successful. I wanted to try evoking emotions, so I'm glad it was successful. :)**

**Saphire122: oh my goodness! You just predicted this chapter1 O_O how did you do that?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. If I did, I think all the viewers would have killed me out of anger for Robin. I enjoy torturing him too much. :P**

Chapter 2:

The wind was blowing cold puffs of air around the centre of Gotham, and frost was creeping its icy fingers up the windows that lined the streets. It was a night better spent indoors with a cup of warm cocoa and as many chocolate chip cookies that you could fit under your belt.

Of course, that wasn't how Commissioner James Gordon was planning on spending tonight. That scenario sounded nice to the police chief, but on another night, another time. Tonight was a night for doing something. Although it was cold, that made the inside so much better, and the excitement to go somewhere so much greater.

James and his daughter Barbara were going to that opening night of Barbara. Babs had been looking forward to the show, a dramatization of the old myth of Pyramus and Thisbe. She had always liked those old myths, and it was such a romantic story, any girl would love to see it.

And James had a soft spot for his daughter. She was his whole world, after his wife had left him and he had been forced to send his small son off to a psychiatric hospital. He loved his son with all his heart, and he really tried to connect with him, but it was so hard with the infrequent visits that were allowed and how closed off James Jr. was.

Barbara he talked to daily. Barbara he shared many interests in. Barbara he saw daily and was able to tell her how much he loved her and how he was proud to be her father.

So when she had come running to him after school one day waving a flyer around, how could he say no?

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

_Everyone talked about death in different ways, some said it was like falling asleep, some talked about it causing hallucinations as your brain was deprived of oxygen. It was funny though, in an ironic way, even with all that studies that we conducted it could never really knew what people saw. And the only people who knew couldn't tell anyone their observations._

_ But now I knew. _

_ Everything seemed to fade away and the world around you went really dull. I knew I was in the alleyway, and that I was lying on the concrete, but all my senses seemed to disappear. I was blind…but I still saw everything._

_ Everything faded away and there was a tunnel. It was very cliché but it was true. There was a tunnel, and a bridge went through it. At the end of that bridge was a very bright light, the purest colour that you have ever seen and then ten times purer still. I knew that my eyes should be burning from the intensity but everything felt calm and still._

_ They always said 'don't go into the light' and I had always joked that I would never: I was a bat and I was nocturnal. But you had no idea how hard it was to fight it. I could tell now why it was always so hard to get to resuscitate someone. That light…it was so big and it was so bright and it just chased everything bad away._

_ My abdomen didn't hurt anymore, and I didn't feel like I would be crushed by the world and all its noise. I didn't feel like my emotions were going to choke me and rob me of my breath._

_ All I knew was peace._

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

"C'mon Dad! We're already late!" Barbara tugged on James' arm and he chuckled.

Barbara, always the impatient one. She was always doing something, whether it be school or extracurricular activities or some personal project she had ambitiously claimed as her own. She was James' little firecracker, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

She ran ahead of him, laughing her head off. She was shouting something along the lines of "I'm gonna beat you! You can't catch me!" in this wonderful chant. He could help but laugh back. His chuckles died down, and silence welcomed him in return.

Being a police officer, James had extensive knowledge of when a situation felt off. When there was something not right, when something had just happened or was about to, there was this twisting feeling in his gut that made his mouth sting with nonexistent bile.

It was happening now.

He ran around the corner and almost collided with his daughter. She was standing very rigidly, her hands clenched at her sides, and her face was very white. He looked at her and noticed that she was looking at the ground about ten feet in front of her. He followed her gaze.

There was an alleyway that was incased in shadows, but there was something that could be seen very clearly. A pale, blood streaked hand was lying on the ground. The rest of the arm…and the person that it belonged to…was hidden in shadows.

"Dad?" Barbara looked up at him with wide eyes.

James clenched his teeth and blew out through his nose. He didn't want her to see this, he didn't want her to see what he dreaded was hidden. But he knew his daughter, she was the inquisitive type. She would follow him if he absolutely forbade her to come.

"I'm going to check to see if there is any danger. Stay here until I say it's safe." He laid a hand on her shoulder and kissed her forehead. He at least had to try to spare her from it.

He rounded the corner and reached into his coat pocket. He always kept the basic tools for a police man with him; he knew he could easily be targeted in revenge or a plot to hold hostages. So he kept his gun and his flashlight with him at all times. He took both out now.

His gun his cocked and his flashlight he clicked on. The light illuminated a sad scene, one sadder than he had anticipated. A small boy lay in a pool of blood, one hand still clutched around the stab wound that felled him. He was curled into the fetal position by the side of a dumpster and the smears on the ground indicated that his last moments had not been pleasant. Tear tracks stained his cheeks and his eyes were half-lidded.

The worst part was that he knew the boy…and that he was Barbara's friend. He couldn't let her see this. It would be too cruel.

He turned around to warn her away just as she rounded the corner. He could only watch as her eyes widened, a hand flew to her mouth, and she gasped, "Dick?"

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

_ I saw them at the end of the bridge. My parents. My Mami and Tati. They were hugging each other and smiling at me. I wanted to cry with joy, and I did._

_ I ran forward, almost tripping over my feet in my haste to get to them. The alleyway faded away but that place didn't matter anymore. All that mattered were my parents._

_ I had missed them so much. So so much. Everyday since their passing I had missed them and wanted just to be able to hug and talk to them. I had just wanted to see their smiling faces again._

_ And now I could. And now I __could._

_ I collided with them at full force, but they didn't fly backwards. They just seemed to absorb the hit, laughing. Their arms circled around me and I felt like I was flying. I felt like I was in heaven…which I was now._

_ I cried. I cried so much. It didn't matter that I was though 'cause I could see them, I could touch them._

_ "Oh Dickie," my Mami stroked my hair, "my little robin."_

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

"No." Barbara sank to her knees and winced at the splash of blood that coated her knees. She reached forward and grabbed her friend's body, bringing it to her.

She gasped again and looked at her father. James looked back at her sadly. He didn't want to comfort her yet, it would just be useless words.

But she said something that James wasn't expecting. "You can save him Dad, please. Please try."

"Hon. He's dead. You know that. I'm sorry." He looked at her sadly. This was breaking his heart and he knew he was breaking hers.

"No! Dad, listen to me!" Barbara shrugged Dick over to him. "He's still warm. It's still possible! You can save him."

James reached out and touched Dick's cheek. His eyes were glassy and unseeing, but his cheek was warm. He had only just passed.

He had to try, just as Barbara said.

He immediately started chest compressions. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…he counted in his head and pushed down on that small chest. Inside he wondered how much good it was going to do. The boy had lost so much blood; if they couldn't get immediate help to him he would slip away soon after they brought him back.

In the distance he heard Barbara talking to a 911 operator. _Good girl_, he thought, _good girl_. Pinching Dick's nose, he breathed in twice, now three times. He resumed the chest compressions.

"C'mon Dick," he growled, "don't give up yet."

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

_I was still standing on the edge of the bridge with my parents. I wanted to move into the light, but my parents weren't moving, and I couldn't bear to separate myself from them. It was too special to let go of something so precious so soon._

_ My father thumped me on the back and I wheezed and laughed._

_ Another thump came out of nowhere, and it wasn't the nice thump that my Tati had just given to me. It was harsh and it hurt and it was tugging on every part of me. _

_ I gasped and immediately wished I hadn't. Every part of my body seemed to gasp out in pain with me. _

_ "Dick, look at me, hon, please?" Mami smiled sadly._

_ I struggled to, although all I wanted to do was double over from the pain. I managed to straighten myself and meet her eyes. She looked sad. It was a kind of sad that I had seen before, the kind where you know you're doing the right thing but it still hurts anyway._

_ "Sweetheart, you're so young," she rested her hand on my cheek and I leaned into the touch._

_ Another wave of pain went through me and I cried out. _

_ She continued, "You have so much life left to live, and so many people who love you."_

_ I grimaced as memories flowed back to me. "Bruce…"_

_ "Loves you," she gave me a hard look, "he does, don't ever think otherwise. He may not show it sometimes, but he does."_

_ "But," I grappled with the notion, and his laugh shared with Vicki Vale popped into my head._

_ "It would be a sad Gotham with Dick Grayson, son." Tati laid his hand on my shoulder._

_ "But I just go to see you again, I-"_

_ Three waves in quick succession coursed through me, and my chest burned. It brought something else this time, though. Images of Bruce, Alfred, the Team, Wally, Roy, Babs played out all around me._

_ I knew what had to be done, but was it fair to my parents? I didn't want to leave them._

_ I looked at their faces and I saw their answer. They wanted me to be happy._

_ "I'll miss you," I choked out._

_ "We will to, my little Robin. But we'll see each other again." Mami smiled sadly and laid a hand on my head._

_ "And know we'll be watching over you." Tati laid his hand overtop of Mami's._

_ "Always." Mami looked me in the eyes._

_ I just smiled at them with my eyes full of tears, memorizing their faces, as everything exploded into stars. I was falling down into the alley. There was a jolt…and everything hurt again._

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

James gave a start as Dick convulsed beneath him. He stopped his compressions for a moment and heard small gasping breaths coming out of the pale lips.

Barbara was watching him with a smile, and she reached out and took Dick's hand. Dick seemed to cling to that like a lifeline, which was a good sign. Tears were streaming down his daughter's cheeks, but they were happy tears, tears of relief for her friend.

An ambulance and three squad cars tore round the corner, and Dick and Barbara were rushed off to the hospital. That was all the better for Commissioner James Gordon, as he had a suspect to track.

**So guys, what did you think? Did it make you cry? Was there something off? Let me know what you think in the box below, it feeds my muse. :)**

**VVV**


	3. Important AN

Hey everyone! I know this isn't an update, but I hope to post the third chapter sometimes this coming weekend!

Could you all please respond to this AN announcement in the meantime…please?

I am planning another story with the Team being Disney princesses and going to princess school :P I'm not exactly sure which princesses to use for who though, and I would love your input.

Which 7 or 8 people should I use and which princesses should they be. You can vote on the lists that I've written below or you can say one of the ones that aren't listed. Thank you all so much!

Robin – Jasmine, Rapunzel, Kida, Esmeralda, Snow White

Roy- Merida, Tinker Bell, Tiana, Ariel

Wally- Rapunzel, Belle, Anna, Giselle (Enchanted)

Kaldur- Kida, Pocahontas, Ariel

Connor- Aurora, Tiana, Mulan, Snow White

Megan- Anna, Ariel, Belle, Giselle

Artemis- Mulan, Cinderella, Megara, Merida

Raquel- Tiana, Belle, Tinker Bell

Zatanna- Snow White, Pocahontas, Aurora, Elsa

Cameron- Elsa, Mulan, Kida, Esmeralda

Jade- Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Megara

Please vote! ^_^


	4. Chapter 3

**I'd like to thank ruthrod97, Willow D'Forest, FireHawk2400, roy23, Violently Red, Icpham, xxxSojournerOfTruthxxx, ChristinatheHobbit, Pegasi1, RDFitzy, evilpetal, and NuclearRogue for favouriting and following.**

**Sairey13: That is the question, isn't it :P? And Bruce's response will be in the 4****th**** Chapter, and it will get a lot more complicated.**

**soccernin19: Thanks, and I was hoping to channel some emotions into the chapter, I'm glad it worked.**

**Broken Antler in Winter: The suspect is in the fourth chapter :)**

**REBD: that will be revealed in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. Why Greg, why? Couldn't I have bought it from you? I wouldn't have cancelled it.**

Chapter 3

Sirens wailed through the streets of Gotham and its inhabitants slept on. Wails, screams, gunshots, sirens…they were normal occurrences for its citizens, and they slept on. No one peered out from behind closed blinds as the ambulance sped past their house. Parents and couples didn't share worried glances as they speculated the trouble. No, everything was as quiet as a mouse in all houses.

They had no clue of the immense struggle going on outside their doors.

Inside that speeding ambulance, paramedics were trying to keep a dying boy breathing, and to keep his companion from tearing out their throats.

An oxygen mask had been fitted over the pale, thin face, and several hands were attempting to stop the last bits of the boy's blood from leaking out of his abdomen. Two more hands were holding the hysterical redhead back.

"Is he breathing? Is he? Have you checked? You should check," Barbara Gordon strained against the arm that was wrapped around her shoulders.

"He is, and we're doing all we can, sweetie," the woman said softly.

"That's not enough! I-"

"Listen, girl. The more you talk, the more time is wasted. Sit down and shut up before I make you!" One of the men trying to stop the bleeding sent her a death glare.

Barbara Gordon shut up and sat down.

There was one long minute of silence as Barbara stared at her friend. She knew about his 'extracurricular activities' and she had never really viewed him as someone to protect. She had always seen him as Robin, and her best friend. Not a victim, never a victim. But now…

He was so pale, and she had never realized before tonight haw small…_tiny_…he was.

How could she have let this happen? How could she not have known in some kind of bestie-sixth sense? Your friend's in trouble, spider sense starts tingling. Or something like that.

She watched the heart rate monitor spell out the slow and erratic heart beat of her friend. Beep beep…a wait for the next one…even more waiting and a tinge of worry…beep beep beep beep…and then an even longer wait. She caught herself holding her breath at each pause, silently praying for the next beat, and the next one afterwards.

Suddenly merely talking seemed like a crime.

"Um, excuse me?" she whispered very softly, but there was no response.

She didn't dare try again. Distracting them at a vital moment and killing her best friend was not an option. She slowly raised her hand, but lowered it almost immediately.

"What is it, girl?" The gruff paramedic broke the silene.

"I, um, I don't meant to get in the way, but…can I please…"

"Just spit it out."

"Can I please hold his hand?" It all spilled out of her mouth in a garbled, hurried thing.

He gave a small smile at that, and she almost jumped at the shock. She was that riled up. "I'm not going to stop you. He's your friend, after all…and it might help. It's better when they have something to fight for."

Barbara reached out tentatively; everything seemed so much higher stakes now, so much more to risk once you thought about it. She slipped her fingers around Dick's cold ones and held on tightly. He didn't squeeze back.

_Don't give up, Dick, don't give up._

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

The commissioner sighed and rubbed at his eyes behind his glasses. He had been worried that there would be no evidence and that the murderer would escape, but…there was a breakthrough. It was a surprising find, one that James had never considered looking or hoping for in a thousand years. They had found a security camera in the alleyway.

That was rare enough: most storeowners didn't bother to guard their loading zones (though most probably should, as that was where many thieves struck). But this one was in mint condition, very good quality. It would catch the criminal in the act for sure.

Now all he had to do was access the feed to find out what happened.

"Sir, we've contacted the owner of the building, and he didn't know that the camera was there. He doesn't have the video, or any way to access it."

All of James's thoughts went up in smoke. How could he do his job now that there were no leads? If there were no leads, the investigation would just be scrapped, and then he would have no chance of getting that murderer off the streets.

"Commish?"

"Yes?" James turned to his lieutenant, who was looking up at the camera in shock.

He followed his gaze and saw what was causing the extreme look on his friend's face. The camera had turned to look at them, and it had revealed a crest imprinted on the side. A stylized bat.

"Jeff…light up the bat signal. We need to look at that video recording."

The case wasn't lost yet.

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

"Move, move, move!" The doors to the emergency ward were flung open and a stretcher was wheeled through as breakneck speed. "He's going into cardiac arrest. I need paddles primed, stat!"

Doctors and surgeons raced after Barbara Gordon's best friend, and she was stuck watching Dick disappear into surgery.

And she couldn't even follow. She was stuck in a chair, waiting.

"Miss, are you family?" A nurse walked up to her with a note board.

"I'm a close friend."

"Do you know his blood type? Or someone who does know?"

"He's AB negative."

"Thank you, Miss."

And she was left alone again.

She tried to be patient, to have faith in the doctors and in Dick. She knew she should sit quietly, that riling herself up would only make her state of panic worse. But she couldn't, she couldn't when all she could do was strain to hear any shred of sound coming out of the room.

There were the calls for instruments to be brought, for more thread, two more blood bags, more light. They were normal, and it was good to know that the surgeons were doing their job, that they were patching up Dick.

He would be okay. He was Dick Grayson, crazy acrobat and mathlete extraordinaire. For him to be gone was the world to stop spinning and for all reason to cease to exist. It just couldn't happen.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppp. She jolted up. She knew that sound, it was bad, it was very bad. She heard the yell for the paddles to be charged and she heard the sickening zap.

Barbara had to see him. It was a non-negotiable. She raced for the door, dodging a couple of startled nurses.

When she got into the surgery room she almost threw up on the spot. His shirt had been removed and his wound had been half-sewn shut. White skin contrasted to ugly, black thread, and dark blood oozed out from between the stitches.

The worst part was the sickening thu-thunk of the paddles being applied to his chest. His torso jolted up like he was a marionette being pulled by its strings and his head lolled to the side.

The part that did it for her was the smell of singed flesh. She ran out and emptied her stomach contents in a nearby potted plant, tears sliding down her cheeks.

She felt hands pull her hair away from her face and guide her to a chair. A woman with kind eyes and nurse's smock held her as she sobbed and hiccupped and just let everything out that she had been holding in tonight.

In the surgery room, the call to increase the charge rang out, and the long beep continued.

^$#*&%^*&^*&$^#U#^

Bruce Wayne sighed and forcibly directly his eyes back to the stage. He hated the opera house, and he hated the reminder of _that_ night. Even walking to the theatre was painful; he had to pass by that alleyway and it just brought the memories back with so much clarity.

He had actually been lost in that moment when he passed by the spot, and he had stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He had had to stop all the images from flooding his eyes, to slow his heart rate.

His date had been as ditzy as ever and had started yammering on about some odd thing, he had no idea. All he saw were his parents falling to the ground. All he heard was the gunshot, his mother's pearls shattering on the pavement.

"Brucie, aren't I right?" He had shaken himself out of his thoughts to see stupid Vicki staring at him. She had that look on her face, the look that he had encountered many times in women. It said 'you'd better agree with me or you're sleeping on the couch tonight. Agree, I'm right, even if I'm wrong you'd better say I'm right.'

So he did.

He laughed with her and kissed her cheek. "Of course, Vicki, dear." He linked arms with her, "Now, let's go see that show, shall we?"

So there he was, trying not to scream as the opera singer howled on about love and sacrifice and heartbreak. He hated it, he hated it. He hated Bruce Wayne. He wished he could just put away all of his feelings and become Batman.

It was during intermission that several calls came. One was from Alfred, saying that the camera he had placed in _the_ alleyway, the one where he had lost everything, had picked up strenuous movement and that the bat signal was blazing the night sky and had been for the past half hour.

The other phone call came five minutes later. It was from the hospital.

**Thank you to Sairey13, Violently Red, Moth165, PeaceLoveNINJA, sharyvargam, Lavendersalamander, and RollingUpHigh for voting for my Disney princess story. **

**If some of my other readers would take a few seconds to vote, it would be greatly appreciated.**

**To gollywog76: I get that some people might not want to read the Disney princess story, and I understand your reasons why, but there is no way that I am not going to write and post the story. And yelling at me will not change that. I would have been fine with all of your disagreements, except for one comment you made that I have to answer to. Referencing the "Gay Seal meme" and saying that the idea was gay is really insulting, and I am very upset about that. Gay isn't an insult, it is something that someone is that should not be taken as derogatory. That is called cyberbullying. You can say that you don't like an idea without inserting insults in. **


End file.
